Digital consultancy Blue State Digital has designed a new visual identity for Hope not Hate, as the anti-racism charity looks to become a “serious brand for serious times”.Founded in 2004, the UK-based charity works to eliminate hatred and discrimination through grassroots efforts that combat extremism.Blue State Digital – who has previously worked on political campaigns for the likes of Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012 and the Labour Party in 2015 – was commissioned to create a new website and identity for Hope not Hate that reflects recent political developments such as the rise of right-wing populism.“Our goal with the rebrand was to create something more robust and modern to address challenges in the current political climate,” says Blue State Digital. “Hope not Hate wanted to develop a brand that would appeal to everyone from age eight to 80 – something that would feel equally at home in a village community hall, an inner-city gym or the main stage at Latitude festival.”“Hate words”The new logo looks to reflect the charity’s aim to “strike out hate”, says the consultancy, with a simple logo that uses a “bar of hope” to physically block out the word “hate” in the charity’s name.This is mirrored by a new brand strategy, which indicates that in headlines across the charity’s website and communications materials “hate words” such as racism, sexism and homophobia should also be struck out.“We never give hate words their power, instead, obscuring them enough so that they can still be understood,” says Blue State Digital.The identity has also been designed to be simple and flexible so that grassroots supporters can translate it into their own work in local communities.“We wanted to build a brand that feels that you could own it,” says creative director Chomoi Picho-Owiny. “You can use the hashtag, you can recreate the logo, you can modify it for your own needs.”Sunshine yellow“The new brand is more about giving supporters the tools they need to fight hate wherever and whenever they find it, rather than a strict and narrow identity system,” he adds.Sunshine yellow – which is both “hopeful” and “uplifting” – has been retained from the old identity as the main colour so that the brand does not lose its connection to its grassroots beginnings, with white and black being used as secondary colours.Two new typefaces – Work Sans and League Gothic – have also been chosen, with the consultancy taking inspiration from 19th century newspaper typesetting in order to emphasise the charity’s investigative work. The typefaces are also compatible with Google, which will allow supporters and activists to create their own designs that remain consistent with the core brand.The new identity has now been rolled out across Hope not Hate’s print and digital touchpoints, while the redesigned website has now launched as well.

Abbey Road Studios, home to The Beatles’ album recordings, has opened a bespoke shop with interiors that replicate the studios themselves. The new store, designed by consultancy Lumsden, will be selling memorabilia based on The Beatles and other artists who have previously recorded in the studios, including The Who, Pink Floyd and Amy Winehouse. Products include original LPs, photographs of those who have recorded in the studios, specialist music equipment, with more merchandise coming soon.The store launch follows the refurbishment of the studios themselves. Its design aims to mimic “little iconic parts” of the recording studios, says Callum Lumsden, creative director at Lumsden. He says: “We’re trying to evoke the spirit of what’s happened at Abbey Road over the years. It’s the centre of the music universe in many people’s eyes.

“Nobody’s ever really allowed into the studios because they’re always in use,” he says. “That’s why we’re trying to evoke the heritage of Abbey Road with the materials we’ve used.”​Props include Paul McCartney’s guitar, John Lennon’s piano, and microphones used in the film The King’s Speech, alongside pegboards and other recording equipment. Other design features include a cash desk formed out of 2,000 LPs, and materials used within the studios, such as mesh panels and a parquet floor. A “music zone” includes an interactive table, which provides visitors with a history of the studios, alongside products such as Sonos speakers, black and white speakers, guitar straps and strings.

Irish telecoms giant Eircom is rebranding as Eir in a move the company says is “the largest brand transformation in Ireland in over 20 years”.

The new Eir identity has been created by Moving Brands, which was appointed to the work following a pitch in February.Moving Brands has developed a new Eir logo. The consultancy says: “To mirror the new name, the logo conveys lightness and, through its upwards angle, a sense of being uplifted.”The new identity also uses a bespoke “digital-ready” font, called Eir, which has been developed with type foundry Colophon.

The organising committee of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics has scrapped its recently unveiled logo following claims it was plagiarised.The committee is set to halt use of the identity, which was designed by Kenjiro Sano, founder of consultancy MR_DESIGN. The Games organising committee said there were too many doubts over the emblem for it to be used.Belgian designer Olivier Debie has claimed that the Tokyo identity is too similar to an identity he created for Theatre de Liege in 2011. Debie is reported to be suing the International Olympic Committee over the logo.

Bloom has redesigned Hovis’ premium bread range with a new look, which indicates impending change across the rest of the brand. The Seed Sensations, Granary and Wheatgerm products which fall under the premium category now sport a new loaf-shaped logo lock-up.This is one of the changes which Bloom design director Bobby Wells says addresses “freshness, customer satisfaction and trust”.He adds: “We’ve moved away from really clean graphics and added new typography and illustration which helps show quality and a sense of ‘from us to you’”

“There are numerous examples of brand logos being so-called ‘refreshed’. Sometimes it’s for very good reasons, e.g. to strengthen and simplify, which helps to make them more visible in an overly-graphic market. There have been many sensitive changes to great logos – Penguin, VW, Texaco, Bell, London Transport, and Coca-Cola are examples. What drives me insane is when perfectly good logos are changed when it is entirely unnecessary and, sadly, mostly for the worse – British Airways and BFI, to name just two. This normally happens when a new head honcho takes over and wants to signal their arrival, and changing the logo is the easiest way to do it.”

﻿﻿Virtual reality company Oculus has launched a new identity as it prepares to release its Oculus Rift headset for consumer sale. The company has ditched it's previous "eye" logo and replaced it with a new word mark and a circular logo it refers to as a "stadium".﻿﻿

An EU court has ruled that similarities between the Skype and Sky logos mean there is a “likelihood” the two will be confused.The decision by the General Court of the European Union means that Skype is unable to register its logo as a trademark.Skype has been trying to register its identity as a trademark since 2004, but has been opposed by Sky, which claims that there is a “likelihood of confusion” between the two marks. The EU Court has now upheld Sky’s position.In its ruling, the court noted similarities between the pronunciations of the words Skype and Sky and added that the Skype logo design did little to distinguish the two words from each other.In a statement, the court said: “The fact that, in the figurative sign applied for, the word element ‘skype’ is surrounded by a jagged border in the shape of a cloud or a bubble does not affect the average degree of visual, phonetic and conceptual similarity.

Skype is reportedly planning to appeal the decision and has the option of bringing an appeal to the European Court of Justice.

“This is a museum that never should have existed,” says Robert Opie, director of the Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising. “Why would you display the things that everyone else is chucking away?”Since 1984, that is exactly what the museum has been doing – showcasing a 12,000 strong collection of packaging and branded objects from First World War Oxo Cubes and 1930s Mars Bars to cult nostalgia items like Spangles and Fiendish Feet Yoghurts.This summer, the museum is moving from its current premises in London’s Notting Hill to the London Lighthouse Building on Lancaster Road, formerly owned by the Terence Higgins Trust.Opie founded the museum following a 16-year career in market research. A lifelong branded packaging obsessive, in 1975 he held an exhibition – The Pack Age – at the Victoria & Albert Museum.He says: “At the time there was nowhere in the UK where you could go and see commercial art – nobody seemed to be keeping a record of this sort of thing.”

Minneapolis-based Duffy and Partners has rebranded Meals on Wheels, the organisation that looks to prevent hunger, healthcare and isolation in the elderly.It is the US association Meals On Wheels America, the “oldest and largest” of its kind, which has been rebranded. The organisation’s work supports more than 5,000 community-based nutrition programmes across the country. A new identity has been designed to convey connection, forward movement and bringing people together according to Duffy and Partners, which has designed an abstracted M and W mark.Joe Duffy, Creative Director at Duffy & Partners says the identity shows “the power found in people coming together—a forward movement—where the wheels of urgency generate an energy that is central to the very essence of the organisation.”